Origanum vulgare

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

This plant is an herbaceous perennial that grows around 1 to 3 feet high.¹ The upright purple-green stems are square-shaped and hairy.¹ They are woody at the bottom and branch out higher up.¹ The small leaves are ovate with a rounded base and acute apex, with a varied margin, pale underside, and most are pubescent.¹ They are oppositely arranged, and have a hairy petiole attaching them to the stem.¹ The small white to light pink or purple flowers grow in a corymb arrangement terminally from the leaf axil and have five lobes.^1,4 The flower sepals are tubular with five teeth, slightly hairy, and green or burgundy colored.¹ The overlapping bracts are dark purple in color.¹ The seed are oval nutlets.¹ The root is a rhizome that creeps horizontally.¹

PARTS USED

flowering herb

PROMINENT PHYTOCHEMICALS

Prominent Constituents Reported in the Scientific Literature:
Volatile oils, bitter principle, flavonoids, tannins, and phenolic acids.³

USES

Supports the Immune System*

DID YOU KNOW?

One of the volatile oils in Oregano, carvacrol, is also found in Thyme, another member of the Lamiaceae (mint family).³

INFORMATION

Oregano is indigenous to Europe and the Middle East but is widely distributed in Asia, Europe, northern Africa, and the former Soviet Union.¹ Historically, the herb was used widely in ancient Greece, and this endemic plant is still popular in herbalism there to this day.^1,5 This herb grows plentifully in limestone-rich soil with large amounts of calcium carbonate.⁵ The roots can be divided in the fall for propagation or the seeds can be sown in early spring in dry, mild weather.⁵

The botanical name of Origanum comes from the Greek oros and ganos, meaning mountain and joy; the feeling it would give to see the plant growing on the mountainside.⁵ The multiple flowers bloom throughout the summer.⁵

Oregano is also used extensively as an essential oil in the aromatherapy industry.¹ The flowering tops have traditionally been used as a dye; purple on wool and reddish-brown on linen.⁵

This plant is heavily used in the food industry as one of the most prevalent culinary herbs.^3,5 It is often confused with another culinary herb, marjoram (Origanum majorana), as they are related and very similar in appearance.¹ Before hops were introduced in beer making, Oregano was a sought-after ingredient because of its preservation abilities and aromatics.⁵

REFERENCES

World Health Organization. WHO Monographs on Medicinal Plants Commonly Used in the Newly Independent States (NIS): Herba Origani. World Health Organization. 2010. Geneva, Switzerland.
McGuffin M, Kartesz J. American Herbal Products Association’s Herbs of Commerce, 2nd ed. Silver Springs, MD: Publication of the American Herbal Products Association; 2000.
Skenderi G. Herbal Vade Mecum. Rutherford, NJ: Herbacy Press; 2003.
Van Wyk B, Wink M. Medicinal Plants of the World, 5th ed. Portland, OR & London, England: Timber Press; 2012.
Grieve M. A Modern Herbal, Vol. 2, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Dover Publications; 1982.